


stoopid cupid

by dinnerwithseungwan



Series: meet me in the library [3]
Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, but cannot leave wenrene, for those who adore wenjoy, slight angst but ull live ull be fine, wendy is always breaking joy's heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28790877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinnerwithseungwan/pseuds/dinnerwithseungwan
Summary: sooyoung, finally fed up with the useless gays in the house, decides to take matters into her own hands. spoiler: it did not end up well.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Park Sooyoung | Joy, Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Series: meet me in the library [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096565
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	stoopid cupid

**Author's Note:**

> u guys should know i don't beta my works so just ignore all the inconsistencies and errors. 
> 
> happy reading!

they must have really lost their minds. sooyoung thinks seungwan must have really lost her mind for letting kim yerim have alcohol as much as she wants; seungwan thinks sooyoung must have really lost her mind for planning something so reckless. 

"come on, just let me do this." she insists to the reluctant seungwan. 

"it is not that simple, sooyoung." 

"it is easy. both of you are just useless," she sighs exasperatedly. 

"i will not be playing with joohyun's feelings," seungwan argues through her tight lips. "and you are not playing with hers, too."

sooyoung sneers at the martyrdom. her idea makes absolute sense, and she does not understand why seungwan would reject it. seungwan and joohyun have been in love with each other since day 1, and it has been years. three years exactly. 

joohyun is kim yerim's cousin, and sooyoung basically grew up with them. when she entered the university, joohyun offered to share this apartment so she could look after her. joohyun was then on her fifth and final year. on the other hand, she first met the then in her third year seungwan when she and her friends decided to join a charity event with seungwan as its project head. they worked closely together and from then, sooyoung would often volunteer with seungwan for other university events.

sooyoung would often invite seungwan to hangout at their place. all it took for joohyun to accept seungwan as their permanent guest was sooyoung getting drunk with their mutual friends and seungwan driving her home safely. perhaps because of their common love for grocery shopping and folding laundries, the two eventually became good friends, and then a lot more, although they are yet to realize it. seungwan is just as responsible and dependable as joohyun. when joohyun finished her course, seungwan took sooyoung and then the freshman yerim under her care within and outside the campus. seungwan guided yerim through beginnings of the university life, helped sooyoung pass the classes she struggled in. when joohyun had to do overtime work at her job as statistician, seungwan would make sure the kids had some actual food on the table and not let them live on stale tv dinner.

the best thing is that it did not stop with seungwan's graduation. even when seungwan gets employed in a biotech firm, she usually stays the night at the apartment, coddling yerim, indulging sooyoung, tending to joohyun. especially joohyun. 

seungwan is probably the easiest person to fall in love with. sooyoung is not at all surprised to witness the inevitable with joohyun. sometimes, it is amusing to watch them go all disgustingly sweet and domesticated, but mostly, it is also frustrating to watch them prance around each other, give palpable signals, and still do nothing about it. so the plan of making joohyun realize that if she does nothing, someone else might steal seungwan away from her has to be commenced.

someone in the person of sooyoung.

the younger is not oblivious to the pout joohyun makes whenever sooyoung wraps her arms around seungwan, or when she snatches seungwan from joohyun's room and demands that she sleeps next to her this time, like how they used to. it is painfully obvious, and it is a miracle how sooyoung is still alive. probably the only reason joohyun still lets sooyoung breathe is because she genuinely loves her like her own younger sister. and that seungwan was sooyoung's, before joohyun. if you try to look it the other way, it can be said that it is joohyun who stole seungwan away from sooyoung. it is the other undeniable truth, albeit neither of them actually speaks about it.

it just happened that one day, seungwan gave up the couch to yerim's petulance and sooyoung's long limbs, and settled with joohyun on the carpet instead. in those three years, sooyoung observed everything unfold in front of her eyes- from how their knees touch, to the subtle palm on each other's legs, to their fingers entwined and hidden under a pillow, and to the present where they shamelessly cuddle. whenever kim yerim teases them about it, seungwan attempts to break apart awkwardly only for joohyun to hold her more tightly in place.

"cuddle sooyoung, if you want to." joohyun would say. yerim would laugh and say something stupid like: _okay, looks like sooyoung needs it more than i do anyway._ she would proceed to strangle sooyoung, and the latter would fight back by actually cuddling and kissing her cringing best friend. 

sooyoung watches seungwan tuck in the knocked out drunk yerim in her bed. she wants to tease her, tell her how much she is a mom to yerim despite the youngest making fun of her and her hopeless crushing on joohyun every chance she gets. instead, sooyoung keeps her mouth shut and mulls over how amazing it is to be loved by a son seungwan. 

joohyun is a dumbass. seungwan is, too. something has to happen. sooyoung has to make it happen. this thing going on (not) has become too insufferable to witness it is literally making her sick. 

"what do you have to lose?" she asks her friend as she occupies the space beside her. sooyoung sits up and forces seungwan to face her. "what do you have to lose, seungwan?"

"it is not nice playing with feelings, sooyoung."

"it's exactly what both of you have been doing for years now," she points out. she juts her chin as she waits for the other to speak up. seungwan does not so sooyoung continues, "what are you so afraid of, really? if you have no courage to tell her then let her do the favor for you. i know she can be a lot braver than you. let her do something about it."

seungwan must have known it by now that sooyoung is sharp-tongued, brutally honest, and clever. sooyoung cannot be ignored.

"and if she does not? if she does not care? if she does not feel the same?"

"are you that dense?"

"i do not want to lose what we have." 

"you have nothing to lose. she is not yours, idiot. she is mine and yerim's. and, if it does not work out then just move on. you can just move on as soon as you have to." sooyoung loosens up and squeezes seungwan's knee. she lies on her side and pulls seungwan beside her. she slips an arm beneath seungwan and keeps it there even with the latter's idle protests, reminding seungwan of how she tosses and turns and kicks in her sleep and it is only proper for sooyoung to hold and restrain her. there is no way she is going to tell her she enjoys the smaller-framed girl against her, soft and cuddly. not yet, at least. "you do not have to do anything. just play along."

"why are you so persistent anyway?"

why is she being so persistent anyway? 

"joohyun is always funny when she is jealous. she is always jealous." sooyoung answers simply with a giggle, earning her arm a light hit. "and you cannot be stuck in this limbo forever, seungwan. i don't want you to." 

it is the most honest she has been since she could remember. tomorrow, joohyun will be home from her two-day convention in another city. tomorrow, the order of things will change.

sooyoung walks into seungwan and joohyun having breakfast at the table. she has to admit those two look adorable together, too damn adorable. seungwan must have gotten out of bed early to welcome joohyun and serve her breakfast. the statistician must have given up sleeping in the morning to make up for the time she was not with seungwan.

_gays._

"hey, dwarfs." 

seungwan stiffens when she hears sooyoung's voice. the advertising arts major casually sits next to the awkward seungwan and opposite the unsuspecting joohyun. she rests her chin on seungwan's shoulder, complaining how the other left too early when they could be cuddling more. joohyun narrows her eyes at them through her specs.

damn it, does she have to be this beautiful in the morning? growing up with joohyun, watching how she just gets more beautiful as she ages really got into sooyoung's self-esteem. she knows she is pretty herself, but joohyun has that face that could have half of the world stop and stare. it is unfair that joohyun is too damn exquisite. and a sweetheart. and a nice person. and smart, damn it. not seungwan smart- seungwan, the resident intellectual, is on another level, but joohyun academically excelled nonetheless. if she cannot get anymore perfect, joohyun breathes numbers, mathematics.

and that she cooks good food. sooyoung really needs to up her game and watch cooking videos on the net.

"i'm borrowing seungwan for today," she announces as she forks a piece of bacon and waffle on seungwan's plate. she nudges the dumbfounded seungwan, urging her to cooperate. "i need a dress."

"dress for what?"

"for the gala night, joohyun. i do attend those, unlike both of you." she rolls her eyes at the two introverts. 

"oh," joohyun blinks and then looks at seungwan, "will you be fine, seungwan? or do you need to rest?"

seungwan finds herself affirming after sooyoung pinched her side.

"please, i cannot take yerim with me. it is always a disaster when we shop together." sooyoung pleads. 

memories of yerim and sooyoung having to be picked up by joohyun must have registered in the two older girls' mind as they both nod in agreement. joohyun stands up to get sooyoung her own plate so she can eat properly. seungwan takes it as her chance to raise an eyebrow and ask sooyoung about today's plan she was not informed of. sooyoung presses a finger to her lips. she lets it linger long enough for joohyun to see. 

she smirks when joohyun clears her throat as she places the plate in front of sooyoung. joohyun runs her hand through sooyoung's black hair then asks, "do you need money? i have not bought you anything in a while. do get a dress you like, okay?"

it would have been easier if joohyun was any less of an amazing person. 

the only problem with shopping with seungwan is that the older thinks everything looks good on sooyoung. everything. so they leave the shop with three paper bags of three different fits so sooyoung can stop tormenting herself on what to buy. seungwan offered to pay for the other two. kim yerim is gonna be so mad for having the parents buy the unofficial child new clothes when the youngest gets nothing. 

"let me pay for this," sooyoung complains when seungwan was about to pull her purse from her bag. "i know you are earning well but-"

"you already paid for our meal," seungwan objects as she digs in her bag. 

seungwan is way smaller than sooyoung and the latter always uses this to her advantage during times like this. she holds seungwan's arm in place while she hands the woman manning the counter paper bills. "one rainbow sherbet and one mint choco chip." 

seungwan grimaces at the mention of sooyoung's ice cream flavor of choice. "why would you eat a toothpaste in a chocolate? it is just disgusting."

"you are just boring, seungwan. i won't even be surprised if you are still a virgin."

"hey! you know that is not true!"

"oh, i wish i did not know how you lost it."

sooyoung feigns her cringe as she seungwan punches her shoulder playfully. after finishing their cups, seungwan suggests they should buy joohyun and yerim a pint of frozen yogurt each. mainly, to appease their youngest for ditching her today. seungwan takes a photo of their takeouts while sooyoung drives the older's car. 

"do you really have to tell joohyun you got her ice cream?" sooyoung asks without taking her eyes off the road. 

"i am just telling her we will be home in 20."

from the corner of her eyes, she can see seungwan smiling happily. they are probably flirting with overeager emojis and ancient languages. a peculiar but familiar feeling develops in the pit of her stomach, urging her limbs to kick the breaks and u-turn somewhere else other than home. other than joohyun. but she keeps her foot on the gas, knowing she cannot sabotage her own plan now. and she cannot, for all it's worth, rob that smile away from seungwan. 

"hey, seungwan. how did you know you love her?"

seungwan does not even have to think. she answers right away with a huge grin, "when i realized i cannot bear to see joohyun sad. so, i always try my best to make her the happiest."

"that's fucking cringe but nice." sooyoung draws in a long breath and then speaks, rather in a defeated tone, "i cannot decide which of you is luckier. i wish someone would love me that way."

"you are not hard to love, sooyoung. who knows, someone out there loves mint choco chip as much as you do."

"just not you."

"just not me. you cannot, for the life of me, get me to taste it again." she crinkles her nose and proceeds to fiddle with her phone again. 

_you are a dumbass, seungwan._

something has gone weird. even when sooyoung filled in yerim with her plan and commissioned her to get joohyun jealous, it seemed to have been failing. the deadly glares stopped. her possessiveness only showed up for the first couple of days. three weeks later, joohyun apparently decided not to care anymore.

granted joohyun has been too busy with her work during their peak season and seungwan, also, had to be absent for some days as her sister came to visit from abroad, but even then, joohyun would always find time for seungwan. she would literally drop anything for seungwan in a heartbeat, especially when it means so much to the latter- like a dinner with her sister and her little family in this foreign nation. joohyun was not there. sooyoung and yerim were.

she could not have failed to notice the clear advances sooyoung would make, could she? sooyoung is sure that the affection she has been showering seungwan transcends that of a what a normal, close friendship. she makes it so apparent, so obvious, she even voices it out.

on that rare occasion that the four of them are together on a holiday, while they are in the grocery store for a sumptuous meal kim yerim has been craving for days now, she voices it out. loud enough for seungwan to hear, loud enough for joohyun to hear.

it has been a month and a half. she has long given up on the plan. she and seungwan have long given up on it. sooyoung does feel sorry about it, seungwan tells her not to be sorry as she was right all along.

the sooner it will hurt, the sooner she will move on. 

seungwan is a liar. she has not moved an inch since she started hurting. she takes it in, all of it. she thinks she is a champ or something, sooyoung scoffs. seungwan loves joohyun just the same, not conditioned, no reservations. she still cracks those stupid jokes to make joohyun smile, still sings her songs when the thunders roll from above. joohyun does not care. sooyoung does. 

"i am here, i have always been here. i love you, seungwan."

she bursts out to the person manning their cart- loud enough for seungwan to hear, loud enough for joohyun to hear. she is so angry at herself, at the two adults frozen to their spot, at kim yerim for not being there so she could bail her out. kim yerim knows. there is no secret between them and _god,_ where the fuck is her best friend when she needs her the most.

"sooyoung?" 

seungwan reaches for her. she reaches for her hand. her hands are trembling. sooyoung's hands are trembling so she let seungwan hold her. she lets seungwan drag her away from the aisle, away from joohyun. she wishes this is seungwan wanting to run away with her. seungwan takes her outside where she can finally let go of the breath she has been holding. she releases it, together with the tears she blinked away. she dries it off quickly before seungwan can hand her her hanky. 

"i don't mean it," she laughs. she is going crazy. seungwan nods and lets her talk. "i was just so upset because i know you are hurting a lot and i know it is my fault and i hate how joohyun does not give a fuck at all when i know she loves you too and i fucking hate it, seungwan."

"it is not your fault, sooyoungie. i'd like to think what joohyun and i had was special, but it turns out i was wrong. we were wrong. it happens. we cannot make people love us just because we want them to, right?" 

"you are hurting so much and i see it even when you won't show it. i wish you would because you are not a saint. i want you to be angry because she lead you on. i want you to be mad at me because i fucked it up!"

seungwan pats her head with the kindest smile. sooyoung usually takes pleasure in watching seungwan struggle to reach her but this time, she actually lowers her head.

"it does hurt a lot, sooyoung." seungwan pats her head again with the same kindest smile. "i love you, too, even when you don't mean it." 

she means it, all of it. she has _always_ meant it. 

exactly a month later, sooyoung tells seungwan the same words. this time, she makes it known she means it. 

seungwan's defense mechanism is to always overwork herself. she drowns herself in tasks, commitments, unhealthy practices, just to distract herself. it is no good, no. sooyoung knows about this tendency and really, she should have seen it coming when seungwan stopped dropping by their place. if it was not for kim yerim's blabber mouth, sooyoung would not have any clue dearest seungwan has missed work for three straight days. seungwan never misses a day at work. it must have been _that_ bad. 

"you are a fucking moron, son seungwan!" 

sooyoung slaps a cooling patch on the sickly's forehead. she appears pale, paler than the last time she saw her. 

"don't you think you are getting too comfortable with the cursing, park sooyoung?" she tries to joke through her weak breathing and coarse voice, "seriously, it is just a flu. i am feeling quite better now."

"why didn't you tell me? i kept ranting to you about my exams and shit and-"

"i knew you would come over and baby me, dumbass. you had to focus and you needed those extra credits. did you do well?" son seungwan presses a hand to her cheek. it burns. "sooyoung, why are you such a crybaby?"

she is crying again, damn it. why is she this weak when it comes to son seungwan? 

"you are a dumbass, dumbass. my favorite dumbass. and i love you and i have come to terms, just now, that you can never love me the way i want you to. you don't need to be sorry. i will fucking kill you if you say sorry."

seungwan does not say sorry. instead, she thanks her for her honesty. sooyoung should have told seungwan not to thank her either because it just hurts as much. but sooyoung lets it hurt, finally. she is done running. at least, she can now move on from this. this is awkward, they both acknowledge, and then both break into laughter. she cooks seungwan food. nights she spent watching cooking videos before sleep are finally paying off. it is not the best but it is edible and seungwan is not complaining.

she comes back home determined. she wishes she can stay at seungwan's to nurse her back to healthy but sooyoung knows someone else fits the job better- probably someone who can actually cook. it is just that that someone won't, and sooyoung is here to understand why.

"we are together," she says after hanging her coat on the rack. 

"i'm happy for both of you," joohyun comments. she smiles at sooyoung briefly before returning her attention to the film playing on the television. "is she well now?"

"you knew she was sick?"

"kim yerim told me the other day."

sooyoung unconsciously balls her fists. she marches in front of the television, plugging it off. joohyun stands up, tells her there is food at the table, and that she is heading to her bed now. "no, joohyun. let us talk." 

  
"i don't want to. i am not in the mood."

"fuck you, joohyun." sooyoung snaps. joohyun stops in her tracks, face just as shocked as sooyoung's. the latter swears she does not mean to say it out loud but she is infuriated and she hates joohyun so much right now that she won't take it back. 

"what do you want, sooyoung?"

"why don't you care? why are you letting yourself lose her? why won't you give any fuck at all?"

"what are you saying? i said i am happy for both of you." joohyun answers in her timid voice. why is she always composed and polite it feels too fucking impossible. "can you calm down, sooyoung?"

"no!" she screams. sooyoung is surprised how she is not bawling her eyes out yet. she always does when she is angry and right now, she is really, really furious her vision is blurring out. "she is fucking in love with you! she has always been so fucking in love with you, joohyun!"

kim yerim runs to the commotion. she ushers sooyoung to the couch but kim yerim is small, just as petite as her cousin, so she fails to get sooyoung to sit down. kim yerim whispers it's enough, that she is just frustrated, that they can talk it out in the morning at the breakfast table. kim yerim is always the reasonable one between the two best friends. 

and for the exact same reason, sooyoung goes on yelling at joohyun. 

"quit this fucking bullshit, joohyun! i know you love her. fuck! everyone knows you love her! so give me a damn good reason why you are letting yourself lose her!"

"because it is you, sooyoung." joohyun walks up to her, unafraid, not in any way flustered by her volatile eruptions.

she looks like the same joohyun she grew up with- dainty and delicate and beautiful. she walks up to her to hug her in a comforting embrace. she feels like the same joohyun she grew up with- affectionate, loving, understanding. she takes sooyoung in her arms like how she used to when they were younger and sooyoung could not contain her emotions. joohyun calms her, soothes her like no one else can. it would have been easier to be mad at joohyun if she did not cherish her. 

"i do not understand, joohyun."

fuck it. she swears a long time ago that joohyun will never see her crying again. she is 21 now. she is no longer that stupid teenager crying to joohyun over some stupid guy. she has even outgrown joohyun now so she cannot be crying in her arms again. fuck it. 

"i would not let go of seungwan for anyone else but you, sooyoung. i would not give her up for anyone else but you- just someone who will love her as much as i do. it is you, sooyoung. i am happy. i am happy because it is you. it does not feel so bad anymore. you must have been hurting before, weren't you? with seungwan and i? you must have been hurting a lot, weren't you? i am sorry, sooyoung. i am really sorry. it took me a while to realize we fell in love with the same person, but i am glad you worked it out with her. she adores you, you know?" 

what a fucking mess it has become.

"i am still hurting, joohyun," she trails off. joohyun stares at her with those concerned eyes. sooyoung swallows the lump hitched in her throat. her head is still spinning and she is grateful for joohyun's support. it would be too gross to retched out the meal she had just an hour ago so she steadies her breathing. she picks her words carefully, hoping to end the mess she started anyway, "it is a sham- seungwan and i. i planned it, okay? i wanted you to realize some things, i wanted you to make your move. you did not and it failed because i ended up hurting all of us in the process. i was a horrible person- selfish. maybe i was not really trying to help both of you because it turned out i did all of those for me- so i could finally get my answers."

"wait, i don't get it."

"what sooyoung is trying to say is that she is sorry," kim yerim interrupts. "and, seungwan is still sick and she needs you. so get your ass in there and tell her how you feel for her."

"what?" joohyun is still pretty much confused when she turns to sooyoung for further explanation. "what? i thought you- _what_?"

god, the world must be ending any moment soon because everyone in this fucking house not named kim yerim is dumb.

"go get her," sooyoung spells out. "you have hurt me a lot already and it still sucks to know it can't be me so make it worth it, joohyun."

"what? sooyoung..."

"and if you don't, i will remind you of that pig-tailed sooyoung who chased away snotty kim yerim's three ugly bullies in the park. i swear, i will haunt you forever. and don't worry because i told seungwan that if she breaks your heart, i will absolutely murder her in her sleep."

that? she means it too.

"oooh, i'd love to see it!" the youngest exclaims.

* * *

sooyoung tosses her bag on the couch and kicks her sneakers off her feet. she drags her way into the kitchen, the result of weeks of tiring senior activities finally seeped in her muscles. the summer heat does not help at all. she opens the fridge and almost cries when she spots a familiar pint next to a vanilla tub. she swears she has moved on long ago, but when seungwan does these small things for her- like buying her favorite ice cream, even when she absolutely despises sooyoung's choice of flavor- sooyoung's heart swells.

why can't there be two seungwans in the world? she complains as she digs into the delectable. joohyun will probably scold her for leaving the fridge door open but heck, joohyun is out of sight. she can stay here in front of the fridge, stuffing her mouth with this heaven's gift to the world without a care. fuck the sore throat that will come after. that is for later's problem. for now, she deserves every bite of this ice cream.

"seungwan!!! sooyoung is eating your ice cream!!!" 

kim yerim starts snitching. she's too damn loud for a dwarf. 

"it is for me. if you can only stop being so conceited and actually pay attention to anyone else other than your 2D video game crushes, seungwan does not eat mint choco, dumbass."

"oh, she does not. she'd rather die than have another taste of it," says a voice. 

oh, shit. sooyoung totally forgot about seungwan's good friend coming over to discuss the art studio business they would venture in with joohyun. the woman is wearing an oversized graphic cult movie tee and styled it with a pair of casual wide pants in a plaid pattern. she is a bit tanned, smiley, and quite taller than the three dwarfs next to her.

"hey, sooyoung! that's not yours! seulgi bought it!" seungwan panics. "oh, crap. we have two freaks in this house!" 

"it is okay. we can share," seulgi says kindly. "i am kang seulgi. i am just few days older than seungwan so you can be casual with me as well. i don't mind."

"i have a question."

"what is it?" 

"do you happen to be in love with someone for three years and still cannot confess? i am just making sure before i let you share this ice cream. it is mine now. finders keepers."

"sooyoung!" seungwan whines, joohyun chuckles.

kim yerim is amused.

kang seulgi grins, eyes turning into crescents making her look more childlike than she had seem at first. "no, i am not a wimp."

"seulgi!" seungwan whines, joohyun chuckles.

kim yerim is amused.

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year our irene is free!!! now i work on the wenseul and seulrene on my drafts after i nap


End file.
